The Gift That Keeps On Giving… For Real

Josh

Since we are coming into the season of giving, it seems like an appropriate time to talk about purchasing gifts. Gift giving is a fact of life. I think a well-timed gift is a great way to show somebody that you’re thinking of them.

Jessie and I don’t have kids, but we’re at the age where a lot of our friends are beginning to. Adding another member to a family is an extremely exciting event. Since this is such a special milestone, it seems customary to get the child a gift. I’m sure you’ve seen this happen several times: A family welcomes a new child in before they know it, their friends have showered them with toys and supplies.

I personally think this is a great time for a gift, but what gift exactly? What’s a good gift for a young child? There are always your standard options that new parents appreciate. Things such as diapers, toys, bedding, strollers, formula, clothes… the options are endless.

What I really have a hard time with in the gift selection process is buying something that two dozen people have already bought or something that the baby is not going to care about. We like giving gifts that are thoughtful and useful. Look at all of the items I listed above, all are disposable or quickly grown out of.

Because of this reason, I found myself struggling to buy gifts for children. I don’t like buying gifts just for the sake of societal pressure. If I can’t think of a quality gift idea, I prefer not to give a gift. I choose to not give a gift over giving a standard issue gift just for the sake of going through the motions. It doesn’t seem as heartfelt to me. So, I prefer to wait for something truly from the heart.

I’m sure a lot of you feel this way. Picking out the right gift can be a stressful process. Fortunately, I think I have found a unique way to give a gift that keeps on giving.

Enter Stock Pile

Stockpile is a brokerage geared towards kids and young adults. Stock Pile does a tremendous job in getting kids involved in the stock market at a young age, and another of it’s outstanding features is that it allows you to buy gift cards towards the purchase of a company’s stock.

Once you decide which company you want to buy a gift card for, it will allow you to quickly make the purchase and print out a very nice fold-able gift card to insert in a greeting card. They are also available in stores.

The market can seem like a scary place, but the beauty of this platform is that it is simple and clean, which is invaluable when getting started in the market. Parents and children don’t have to worry about having to learn how to use a trading platform first.

Maybe you’re thinking, “What kid wants stock as a gift? That’s so much less fun than a new toy.” Maybe you’re right, but the key here is thinking long-term.Check out this video between Jim Kramer and the CEO of stockpile:

I really like when they talk about getting children involved with safeguards in place, particularly the security feature that allows a kid to make a transaction but goes to the parents phone for approval. It really gives children a chance to learn while making sure huge mistakes aren’t made along the way. Think about some of these benefits of this simple gift.

Compound Interest: Think about what the compound interest will look like 16 years from now when it comes time to buy a car. I don’t know about you, but my first car was waaaay more fun than that diaper I used once 33 years ago. Thanks to whoever bought those by the way!

An easy yearly gift: Yup! Now you’ve taken the guesswork out of gifts to follow. You could simply give future gift towards the portfolio. Compound interest AND regular contributions equals a pretty nice portfolio at age 18.

The child will start to ask questions. What is stock? How does it make money? What is interest? How does it grow? Think about the wealth of knowledge at a young age!

Every child loves Disney, right? Heck yea they do! So maybe when they’re 5, they don’t have a Mickey Mouse stuffed animal, but they could be part owner of Mickey Mouse himself. Imagine the joy and questions that will arise when you tell your kid they are part owner of Disney.

These are just some of the incredible opportunities a thoughtful gift like this can open up. I could write a 3000-word post including all of the features in detail, but my goal of this article is to get everyone thinking about an out-of-the-box gift that could really make an impact instead of more mindless spending.

I’m sure that a concern you might have is what if one of the parents doesn’t know anything about the stock market? To that I say, congratulations! Give yourself a two-hand pat on the back because you just sent two generations of a family down the path of learning how to create wealth!!

Now that the holiday season is coming up, people are having babies, and birthdays keep coming year after year, there is a lot gift giving going around. I encourage you to be different.

Consider a gift that helps someone learn how to build wealth and impart a skill for life. Give someone a gift that truly does keep on giving. That is love.

This Post Has 2 Comments

This is a fabulous idea! I am all about doing things that are different and help plan for the future. We spend so much money on junk that ends up being donated or thrown away. This is a much better outlook on gifting!